Price Research: Our research indicates that this ZyXEL 500Mbps Powerline Starter Kit with 4-Port Gigabit Adapter + 1-Port Gigabit Adapter is $23 lower (22% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting at $103. - brisar

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Will powerline work across multiple phases and circuits?

Yes. First-generation powerline gear worked only on conducted signals. So it would not work across the two phases present in most U.S. homes that have 220V / 240V split-phase service. But current-generation adapters work on both conducted and radiated signals, and work across phases just fine. for more information.

In many cases, mine included, a MoCA adapter will provide more throughput, less packet drops, and a higher level of consistency (and not be affected when someone turns on the vacuum :-) It's obviously only ideal if your house has Coax already run).
This twin pack is a great option:Amazon[amazon.com]

43 Comments

I want to help a friend improve her existing wifi range, where she has cable modem to a modem in a small cottage office 6-10 ft away from main house. There's a dedicated extender/repeater in the house's hallway near a room facing the cottage. That room has the best coverage of the main house. However, the rest of the house has wireless (dis)connection issues from various devices. I am aware of various factors that can affect wifi coverage. The cottage is a home office, and would want internet line to remain there. But, I have not yet done any visual evaluation.

Is there a good chance that plugging the extender onto such a powerline would significantly improve the range? Thanks

Is there a good chance that plugging the extender onto such a powerline would significantly improve the range? Thanks

I'm not understanding the setup, is the modem in the cottage and is there a router connected to it that sends a signal to the repeater in the main house?

In any case, this wouldn't help with wi-fi range. Instead it would create a stable link between the two power-line units that you could connect an access point anywhere inside the home that could provide a stable wi-fi connection within the house (so as long as there isn't much interference). Of course the cottage would need to be on the same breaker box as the main house for this power-line device to establish a link. The main benefit for your friend's setup sounds like you'll be able to change the repeater into an access point and move any area that can provide the best coverage, without worrying about being within range of the cottage's router.

I want to help a friend improve her existing wifi range, where she has cable modem to a modem in a small cottage office 6-10 ft away from main house. There's a dedicated extender/repeater in the house's hallway near a room facing the cottage. That room has the best coverage of the main house. However, the rest of the house has wireless (dis)connection issues from various devices. I am aware of various factors that can affect wifi coverage. The cottage is a home office, and would want internet line to remain there. But, I have not yet done any visual evaluation.

Is there a good chance that plugging the extender onto such a powerline would significantly improve the range? Thanks

Here's how I've set up my parents who are in a similar situation:

-DSL modem and router are in a detached garage/office several feet from the house. A powerline adapter is connected to the router there.

-A second wireless router in the house is connected to a second powerline adapter in the house. DHCP and SPI firewall on this router are disabled and wireless is enabled. The IP address of the router in the garage/office is set as the gateway and DNS server. The internet comes through at full speed and wireless coverage is great throughout the house.

I bought this last week for $85. It works pretty well and the setup is simple. However, consider that the speeds can degrade really quickly depending on how far you are from the router's power socket.

For example, I have a 750sq ft condo, built in 2007 (relatively new). When I plug both units into 2 sockets in bedroom 1 (where the router is), they can talk at over 100mbps. When I plug the second unit into bedroom 2, the speed goes down to about 65mbps. When I plug the second unit into one of the sockets in my living room instead, the speed varies depending on socket, anywhere from about 15mbps to 40mbps.

So just keep in mind that yes, it will likely be a more stable connection than wireless, but unless you are very close to the router or your wiring is all on the same circuit, speeds can decrease pretty quickly. I have 1Gbps internet (lucky me), so this is still a very slow solution when something plugged directly into the router can get 850mbps. However, it still seems to stream HD video in my living room more smoothly than WiFi did...

these powerline kits have to be on the same 120 volt phase to work. you have two 120 volt phases going into a house. they are combined to power larger appliances like HVAC, stove, dryer, and water heater, etc. if one is one the first phase and the other is one the second phase they wont work.

wind&salsa you would be WAY better buying a long ethernet cable and running it thru a PVC pipe buried slightly underground.

I bought this last week for $85. It works pretty well and the setup is simple. However, consider that the speeds can degrade really quickly depending on how far you are from the router's power socket.

For example, I have a 750sq ft condo, built in 2007 (relatively new). When I plug both units into 2 sockets in bedroom 1 (where the router is), they can talk at over 100mbps. When I plug the second unit into bedroom 2, the speed goes down to about 65mbps. When I plug the second unit into one of the sockets in my living room instead, the speed varies depending on socket, anywhere from about 15mbps to 40mbps.

So just keep in mind that yes, it will likely be a more stable connection than wireless, but unless you are very close to the router or your wiring is all on the same circuit, speeds can decrease pretty quickly. I have 1Gbps internet (lucky me), so this is still a very slow solution when something plugged directly into the router can get 850mbps. However, it still seems to stream HD video in my living room more smoothly than WiFi did...

I don't pay anything extra for it. My neighborhood has 100/100 fiber connections included as part of the homeowner's association dues. I was lucky enough to be in one of the buildings that are part of an indefinite "beta test" for their upgraded 1Gbps functionality. So far it's been a year =)

Although even if the test ever ends, falling back to "only" 100/100 isn't a big loss

Well I have one of these for my office from where my internet modem is located. It run a 8 port gig hub. It works fairly well but keep in mind your not going to get the speeds you'd like because this at best maybe 300 megs pers second and not the 500 megs they claim...If anyone does get 500 megs I would love to hear about it. I really just use these for the printers in the office. My wireless works pretty fast and close to gigabit speeds. I would stick to getting a repeater that matches the speed of your wireless router and see if you can boost the coverage.

Otherwise like the one person recommended running a wired connection under ground to the other locations would be good.

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